


Suicide Angel

by CallaPendragon



Series: Suicide Angel [1]
Category: Fantasy - Fandom, Original Work, Paranormal - Fandom
Genre: Angels, Death, Depression, Gen, Ghosts, Self-Harm, Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-08-15 01:49:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 9,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8037490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CallaPendragon/pseuds/CallaPendragon
Summary: Morgana's best friend in the world Aidena just killed herself one late Halloween night. But instead of being at rest Aidena comes back to receive help from her life long friend. In the seven years following her death she must keep 49 souls from falling into despair and losing their lives to themselves. Will Morgana be able to help Aidena escape the pits of hell?This story is purely fiction any connection to real life events is purely coincidental.Depression is real and can affect anyone. It doesn't matter how happy they seem it can all be an act. Look out for your loved ones you may never know who around you is suffering.





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Those who suffer from depression/suicidal thoughts](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Those+who+suffer+from+depression%2Fsuicidal+thoughts).



The silvery light of the moon shown lightly on her golden brown hair as she sat in the window sill. The golden bells and colored beads sang joyously in her dreadlocks, the complete opposite of her own mood. In her hand she held a pen and a piece of paper. The words on the paper were sorrowful and remorseful. Words of anger, pain, and suffering were etched onto the paper by the blazing pen. Halloween had always been her favorite night of the year, yet tonight neither the night that gave her so much pleasure nor the music from the ornaments in her hair could cut through the darkness that was consuming her soul. Finishing the letter, she put down the pen and grabbed her butterfly knife. The handle and blade of the knife were black as night, inky as the despair in her soul. The blade flashed dully in the moonlight as she opened it up. She pressed it to her skin garnet colored liquid bubbling up from her skin to kiss the blade lightly before retreating shyly to the floor beneath as she ran it across her skin. Finishing one arm she moved to the other. As she completed her unchangeable deed her vision went black, she fell to the ground her blood pooling around her on the floor, staining the wood flooring and her dress of orange creme.


	2. Chapter 1-Her Return

Tears fell from her eyes as she pressed the razor blade to her skin, "I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore; I can't do this without you."

"You don't have to. "

Morgana spun around quickly unable to believe her ears.

"Whoa whoa, careful! Careful Girly!" Aidena admonished taking the razor blade from her hand carefully without touching her, "Wouldn't wanna nick yourself with this honey. This nasty little pup could do some real damage."

Morgana couldn't believe her eyes anymore than she believed her ears. Aidena was standing before her as alive as the Suns flame. Her mocha colored skin glowed, complimented stunningly by the red halter dress she wore. Morgana had never seen that dress before, but it seemed familiar somehow. Aidena looked at the razor blade solemnly before looking back to Morgana, the Ruby glass beads and golden bells sang in her brown dreadlocks as her piercing gold eyes meet Morgana's crystal blue ones.

"You look like you've seen a ghost Hun." her eyes widened as if remembering something, "Well," she continued slowly as if out of breath, "I suppose you have, not really used to it myself I'll admit."

"But you're here! You can't be dead!" Morgana's eyes filled with tears, "Where'd you go?! You've been missing for a week! Your mum... your mum said you killed yourself. " Morgana continued to sob lightly as Aidena looked at her solemnly.

She waited for her friends tears to die down before speaking. "I did." Morgana looked up at her in shock and confusion, "Seven days huh," Aidena muttered to herself as she stared out the window.

"No... Why?!" Morgana cried out helplessly.

Aidena looked back at her speaking softly, "Why does anyone commit suicide? Why were you about to?" she finished gesturing to the blade in her hand before throwing it to the floor the moonlight glinting off the blade as it retreated to the shadows beneath her chest of drawers.

"Because I'm alone!" Morgana looked up at her friend, fresh tears sparkling in her eyes, "You left me! Abandoned me! You were the only one who understood and you left me! You died!"

Aidena nodded softly, "Yea... Yea I did... I let the darkness consume me. My dad knew I needed pills for my depression; Mom wouldn't let me have them."

That's when Morgana recognized the dress, it was the same one Aidena wore to school the day she killed herself, but it was different, "Aidena, I... I thought that dress... was orange creme..."

Aidena's eyes meet hers once more, "It is."

"But, it's red like... Like blood."

"That tends to happen when you go up the river." She said holding up her wrists the belly of her forearm facing Morgana. Two angry jagged lines connected Aidena's wrists to the bend of her elbows.

"Oh my god, " Morgana said covering her mouth in a gasp, there was no way that was fake, at least Aidena didn't have enough talent for that kind of make up, "You're dead..."

Aidena snorted at her, "I thought that was covered when  my body was found in a pool of my own blood; butterfly in one hand, and a most likely blood stained note in the other."

"Yea? Well the fact that you're standing in front of me kinda contradicts those facts. For one thing, I never saw your body, and unless I'm hallucinating, yeah that must be it! I'm dreaming!"

Aidena chuckled softly backing up, "You're not dreaming. I'm dead and I've come to you as a spirit. I need your help." she finished as she sat, or rather hovered, in the window sill, it was her favorite spot in life.

"My help? What can I do for the dead? I can't help you adjust that's a job for the longer dead. I guess I can give everyone a message, but you kinda made yourself clear in your note."

Aidena sighed, "I wish it were that simple. "

Morgana's eyes widened, "Are you going to hell?"

She nodded, "Unless I can save 49 souls from my fate in seven years. "

"Your fate?"

"Suicide."

"I see. Do you have any under your belt yet?"

"Yea..."

"How many? Can I ask who or is there some kinda savior ghost/depression sufferer confidentiality? "

Aidena laughed softly, "No I don't think so... But it doesn't matter anyway. Your the only person who's under my belt."

"Me?!"

"Yes you. Weren't you just trying to kill yourself when I showed up?"

"Well, yeah but I never thought it would work..."

Aidena sighed, "Then what's the point in doing it?"

"The hope it would..."

"Well, you would have died a week from now, had that razor touched you're skin."

"That long?"

"Yea. Non-fatal cut but the blade is covered in tetanus. According to the boss, you would've hidden the cut and not properly care for it and then die a slow and painful death."

"Oh... Wow. That's a shitty way to die."

"You're telling me."

"So, I'm really the only one?"

"Yea, today was the first day I was able to wander the earth again. Seven days after my death. And thank god I'm one of the lucky ones."

"Where were you the rest of the week?"

"I don't know. Limbo I guess. It was somewhere between life and death. That's where they explained my mission, and the overwhelming likelihood of failure. "

"Mission?"

"Yea saving the 48 souls other than you from suicide."

"What do you mean by the likelihood of failure and you being lucky."

"Well... Not just anyone can see me. It's likely for me to fail because I can't be seen by those I'm supposed to help. Most people in my position fail. The ones who succeed are usually assisted by those with high physic abilities. "

"But I'm not psychic. "

"Everyone is a little bit. That's where we get our sixth sense. But in your case our bond is so strong that you are extra sensitive to me."

"So even though I can't see ghosts I can see you."

Aidena nodded, "Yep."

"My head hurts..." Morgana moaned as she crawled to her bed like a defeated warrior.

"Go to sleep Hun. I'll be here in the morning."


	3. Chapter 2-Sarah

The latch clicked softly as Sarah locked her bedroom door after breakfast Saturday morning. A small sense of relief came over her as she locked the world away from herself. But it wasn't enough. She needed to feel like herself too, look like herself. She quickly threw aside the soft lavender sundress and matching gloves her step mother expected her to wear that day. She crawled beneath her bed quickly grabbing the suitcase hidden in the darkness beneath. From the suitcase she grabbed her black leather jeans, a tattered blood colored shirt and black converse. She pulled them on with lightning speed as she took out a piece of broken piano wire. After dressing, she gingerly wrapped the wire around her wrist, gently pulling it tighter around her wrist as it began to bleed, “Not too much,” she whispered as she released one end of the sting causing it to quickly come loose as she repeated the act on her other wrist. Her anxiety seemed to melt away with the blood pouring down her arms. At times like this she remembered old time doctors, how they believed letting out the 'bad blood' could help cure disease; maybe they were on to something after all. Careful not to get any of the crimson liquid on her cream colored carpet. Carefully she cleaned the wire putting it back in it's hidden place, she began applying first aid to the wounds on her wrist gently as a black cat hopped down next to her.  
Sara smiled softly, “I'll pet you in a second Lilith, wouldn't wanna get these cuts infected. Dad might notice then. The cat dipped her head lightly as if she understood what Sarah had said to her.  
Sarah smiled again as her cat hopped onto her bed. Around the otherwise pure black cat's ankles were four red bands one just barely above each paw. That was Sarah's favorite part about the cat was that they seemed to have matching markings. Sarah gently slide a pair of finger-less gloves over her bandages and the scars that littered the palms of her hands. Sarah crawled onto the bed laying beside the cat, “Well Lilith, what shall we do today?”

“Oh my God!” Aidena huffed annoyed, “My funeral was Sunday so can you explain why you skipped the tradition of Ice cream Day last week?”  
Morgana sighed, “I'm sorry I just couldn't. It wasn't the same without you.” she muttered quietly trying to avoid any strange looks.  
Aidena growled softly understanding her friends heartbreak, “Don't think of it as going without me; think of it as going because I can't anymore.” she said as she hovered upside down above Morgana's head as she walked them to their favorite local Ice cream shop.  
Morgana nodded thoughtfully, “In your place huh... I guess I can do that When did you get so smart?”  
“What? I have always been brilliant.” Aidena declared indigently, “I just needed to die to release my brilliance!”  
Morgana snorted lightly as she ordered her ice cream and walked over to their favorite spot, “Yea, sure.”  
“What, don't I get any?”  
“Your dead.”  
“So?”  
“Will you eat it?”  
Aidena pouted lightly, “It's the thought that counts.”  
“Exactly.” she responded as Aidena hovered over her seat pouting.  
“So this list you have of people who are suicidal, who do we help first?” Morgana asked as she began licking her Ice cream.  
“I believe I can help you there sweet heart.” said a soft melodious voice to Morgana's right. The girls turned to see a man who appeared to be in his late teens. He had soft blonde hair that bushed his shoulder lightly and fell into his soft blue eyes. He wore a burgundy shirt trimmed with gold and blue jeans.  
Aidena gasped jumping from her spot to hover above the table as she curtsied,“Lord Zerachiel!” she exclaimed.  
Morgana snorted laughing, “Looks like death brought out your hidden manners too!” she exclaimed as the ghost glared daggers at her.  
Zerachiel gave a hearty laugh as well, “Your friend has wit young Blood Orange.” he mused.  
Morgana giggled into her ice cream as Zerachiel and Aidena sat down at the table with her. She continued to smile as she gained control of her laughing fit. She looked toward Zerachiel, “So how can you help us?”  
“Well my dear I am what you would call an Angel of healing. I look after those who are in pain that includes depression, but since fewer and fewer believe in me they do not call to me and my ability to help them has been reduced. However I can tell you who is closest to you, and sometimes give a little info on how you can help. But as I said I haven't been called on by most of these people so my ability to help is very limited.” Zerachiel looked down painfully at the thought, “As you two are still minors I think we should focus on victims that are closer to your age group.”  
“And when I'm an adult?” Morgana asked.  
“Then we'll focus more on adults.  
The girls nodded understandingly until Morgana spoke, “So what can you tell us about our first case?”  
Zerachiel smiled, “You'll be helping a girl named Sarah.” he turned to Aidena, “You'll know her when you see her. She's closer than you think, on her way in fact.” he finished as he vanished into the air.


	4. Chapter 3-Ice Cream

“Is he always that cryptic?” Morgana asked with a soft huff.  
“Angel's can't interfere with our free will.”  
“So?”  
“So they can only give us cryptic answers and the bare minimum.”  
“Great.”  
Aidena chuckled, “Personally, I think they do it just to mess with us.”  
“So the whole no interfering thing isn't in the rule book?”  
“Oh it is.”  
“But you...”  
“Oh come on. They could give us more than that without breaking the rules. They just wanna see us squirm.”  
“Why?”  
“Cuz they're jealous.” Aidena said before straightening up. Something had caught her eye.  
“Why is it?” Morgana asked as she eyed her best friend. Aidena reminded her of an orange Britney Spaniel trained on it's master's prey.  
A single word escaped Aidena's lips before Morgana turned to look where her friend's piercing gaze fell: “Her.”  
Next to the Ice Cream vendor stood a young girl, thirteen maybe fourteen years old at the most. It was hard to tell how big she was from this distance, she looked about average height for her age; but her clothes were obviously two or three sizes too large at least, except for her shoes. Her black high tops were tattered and thread bare, they also appeared to be a half size too small for her. In fact, all of her clothes seemed ratty and torn. There were about a dozen holes in her jeans which were barely held up on her slender hips by a red and black rope belt. Her shirt had definitely seen better days, black thread gleamed against crimson fabric in several places where someone had tried to mend the small holes throughout the years. The only thing that seemed to stand the test of time with this girl was the black leather jacket with a little basket on the left shoulder. They couldn't see what was in the basket, the girls badly dyed blonde hair was frizzy and pulled into a ponytail on the left side of her head that completely covered that shoulder.  
“What about her?” Morgana asked, “She's a kid.”  
“She's suicidal.”  
“What?!” Morgana exclaimed in shock as Aidena nodded solemnly.

Sarah peeked through her hair cautiously at the girl who sat but three tables from her. It could be her imagination but Sarah was sure that strange girl had been staring at her for the past twenty minutes while talking to, well air. But then again it could just be her imagination, the other girl could be using a hands free device for her phone, and Sarah was sitting directly in her view, maybe it was just coincidence. Either way she'd feel better when the “King's Riders” showed up. They were her brother Liam's old biker gang. Liam was long gone now but Sarah was still the Rider's little “Dragonfly”. Liam left it to them to watch out for her, and they didn't wanna think about what Liam would do if they failed. Besides, Sarah was like their own little sister, and no one hurt family. As if sensing her human's discomfort Lilith let out a small mewl as she crawled over Sarah's shoulder onto the table.  
Sarah smiled, “Alright, I know what you want.” she pulled out a small plastic cup setting it on the glass table before spilling some of her Ice Cream into it. Lilith let out a soft purr of thanks and delight.  
Sarah smiled again more softly this time remembering, “Strawberry was mom's favorite too.”  
Lilith paused in her delighted consumption to rub against Sarah's hand lovingly. As Lilith returned to her treat Sarah began quietly stroking the cat's midnight fur, gently rubbing her tiny ears.  
“She's cute, is the cat yours?” Sarah looked up to see the girl she had suspected of watching her. The girl looked to be about a year or two older than Sarah. She appeared to be a pale skinned Romani. There was a darkness to her pale skin that seemed a couple shades too dark to be a simple tan. Her hair was a deep rich brown like pure cacao. But her eyes seemed so out of place, a bright crystal blue that nearly shattered the girl's exotic appearance.  
For a fraction of a second, Sarah thought she saw another girl just behind the young gypsy. But the next second she was gone, a shadow image, perhaps a trick of the light, now gone without a trace.  
“You know suicide is never the answer!”  
“What?”  
“I know the pit in our souls can be so dark but-”  
“I don't know what you're talking about.”  
“But-”  
“Goodbye!” Sarah said firmly as Lilith jumped back into her shoulder basket as she darted away.


	5. Chapter 4-The King's Riders

As Sarah rounded the corner she ran into what felt like a flesh wall, “Hey Dragonfly, what's the rush? Thought we stood you up?”  
Sarah looked up into the big brown eyes of one of the “King's Riders”. His name was David, but everyone called him “The Giant”, he was the Bubba of the group. Nearly 300 pounds of pure muscle and like gooey marshmallow on the inside. He looked down at her, his eyebrow wrinkled in worry. She stepped away from him causing his dreadlocks to sway slightly due to her sudden absence. She smirked as she saw the two men behind him. Kenny, also known as “Lancelot”, stood on his right. Lancelot looked like he just stepped off a skateboard or a California beach. His skin was tan and sun-kissed, his hair long and blonde, “Nice to see you Little Lady.” he said a slight drawl to his accent. While Lancelot spent most of his time in New York, he was born and raised in Alabama the first six years o his life. Fourteen years later it was still obvious. Neither of his parents ever felt the need to lose their accents and neither did he.  
Dante stood on Giant's left and was the only one with a half decent professional haircut. Back in high school he used to wear his hair in a lion's mane style like the lead singer of some German band. It was what had given him the nicknames, “Lion” or “Leo,” but now that he started working he decided it was time to set that style aside for now; which was what most of “The King's Riders” had done in resent years. They were all working or in College or both, none of them had time for Sarah all the time, so they kinda took turns visiting her, and spending time with her.  
That was when they noticed the cat in the basket, “Hey you brought Lilith with you.”  
Sarah nodded as Giant rubbed Lilith gently behind the ear. While she seemed to tolerate Lancelot and Lion's existence she responded very affectionately to Giant purring lightly and rubbing his hand gently with her nose. Sarah typically went by Lilith's reactions to people, the cat was a wonderful judge of character, if Lilith trusted or tolerated someone, Sarah did too.

“Nice job Jello-brain.” Aidena said, her head in her hands.  
“Oh shut up what was I supposed to say?” Morgana growled as she paced.  
“How bout... not that.” Aidena replied tartly.  
Morgana glared at her as she continued to pace, “Thank you Captain. Now what do we do?”  
“Now you gotta get her to trust you.”  
The girls just slightly at the sound of Zerachiel's voice. He chuckled softly as Morgana glared.  
“How do we do that? Morgana seemed to freak her out something fierce.”  
“The Cat.” he said smirking before vanishing.  
“The Cat?!” the girls exclaimed looking at each other confused.

Sarah waved as the Rider's dropped her off at home an hour before supper. Just enough time to change. She jumped into the tree and climbed up til she came to the branch that met her window. She crawled in before showering and quickly changing back into the sun dress. She shivered slightly, winter was starting yet mommy dearest wanted her to wear this. “Beauty before practicality.” she liked to say. Especially when there was a dinner party involved.   
After drying her hair, she pulled it back into a single ponytail. Her step mother would take care of the rest. She unlocked her door after ensuring everything was properly hidden then proceeded down stairs. Crystal, her step mother, waited for her at the bottom.  
Crystal quickly ushered her into a back room sitting her down in a chair as she began applying make-up to her fourteen year old step daughter. It made her look beautiful, but also caused her to look twenty-one, far older than her true age. It was also far to thick, even if it had been age appropriate.  
“There, now that that's done, what were you doing up in your room all day long? You didn't even come down for lunch.” she asked her voice sickly sweet and high as the screech of a cat.  
“I was reading.” Sarah lied, “I'm sorry about lunch I wasn't hungry and I didn't wanna spoil my dinner.”  
“I see.” she said twisting Sarah's hair more roughly than necessary. Sarah bit back a yelp and tried to keep her eyes from watering. It proved difficult as Crystal pulled and twisted her hair, “We need to redye your hair. You'd like that right?” she gave an extra sharp tug as if daring her to argue.  
“Yes, of course, m-mother.” Sarah said nearly sick at her words.  
“We'll do that tomorrow, not like you have any other plans, right?”  
“Of course not mother...” she said softly, her stomach dropping as she thought of the Riders sitting at the Ice Cream stood thinking she had stood them up.  
“Good.” She said finishing the complex knot she'd put Sarah's hair in, “Now I know I always say 'Beauty before practicality,' but, it is getting chilly, and while I was out today I found this.” Crystal said as she gave Sarah a clothing box, “Now go put it on. Be careful of your hair and make-up, then we'll go down for dinner.”


	6. Chapter 5-Smeared Letters

Morgana sat on the bench quietly drinking her chamomile tea as Aidena paced above her head.  
“Oh what are we gonna do? You really screwed this one up! God, she's so young!”  
“I know!” Morgana growled exasperatedly, “I'm sorry. I freaked out. But she seemed okay, right? She should be alright...”  
“She's supposed to jump off the bridge tonight!”  
“What?!” Morgana looked at her friend frantically, “What do we do?”  
“I don't know!”  
An unfamiliar voice rose up from behind them, “Become her strength.”  
Morgana and Aidena whipped around in surprise. Behind them Morgana saw a little black cat with blue eyes, Aidena on the other hand, saw something far different.

Sarah followed her step-mother, Crystal, down the stairs quietly as everyone turned to gape at them. Crystal stood proud in her floor length, strapless, crimson dress. The dress was split down the center from mid-thigh showing off both of her long very tan legs. Her long naturally blonde hair was twisted in the back causing a delicate waterfall effect to occur. In the front she had a braided crown showing her as the queen she believed herself to be. Throughout her hair, pieces of red and gold glitter shinned, giving her the overall appearance of a magnificent angel come down to earth.  
Sarah came down right behind her step mother. Her eyes remained downcast in embarrassment and shame. She prayed to any and every god or goddess she could think of that her father would come out of his daze and send her to her room for wearing such a horrid dress. The dress was steel gray with the brightest tinge of blue. It was of the knit sweater variety. The length was decent coming down mid thigh but it was skin tight and difficult to move in. The sleeves were a blessing. They came down to the base of her fingers and had a hole for her thumb in it. No need to wear gloves this evening. The problem was the torso; made worse by it's skin tight nature. The collar itself was a very light modest v-neck coming down just below the dip in her throat but below that was a large diamond shaped hole, putting Sarah's developing cleavage on display for all to see. The hole prevented her from wearing a bra, stripping her of almost all her modesty. Her hair was twisted back like Crystal's, but not as elegantly. The dye having severely damaged her hair caused it to fall lifeless across her shoulders, the dead curls and limp braid dangling in a sad display. Her make-up was caked on thick making her look twenty-one instead of the young teen she was. In spite of the fact the blue eye shadow made her blue eyes shine more vibrantly, Sarah felt more like a painted whore in the dress and make-up than she did herself. She knew though she'd have to suck it up. Today was a day to remember her brother Liam. The second anniversary of his death. Sarah still remembered it like it was yesterday, the blazing horns, the screeching tires, and the bitter cold. She almost went with him, maybe it would have been better if she had she mused.  
'Not at all,' the wind whispered, Sarah thought she must have imagined it, but while muffled, the voice was so warm and familiar, yet she couldn't remember who it sounded like.  
“Your parent's sure do know how to throw a party.”said a voice behind Sarah, she turned around to see her classmate, Jennifer standing there.  
“Thank you.” She responded smiling it was time to play hostess, just like her step-mother had taught her.  
“I must say you look cute, but really old too.” Jennifer continued.  
“You think?”  
“Yea really old, like twenty-five.”  
Sarah shuttered, “Yea must be the make-up.”  
“Yea, well it's cool how really into saving the animals your parents are.”  
“Uh,” Sarah said lamely, “Yea, go animals...”  
“I was surprised when I saw the party was today.”  
“Yea?”  
“Well of course! It's the second anniversary right? Of your brother's death.”  
Sarah nodded hesitantly, “Yea, I think that might be mentioned later.”  
“Really? Why?”  
“Well cuz Liam really loved animals.”  
“I doubt it. Why would your dad wanna remember one of the worst days of his life?”  
Sarah's mouth went dry as she choked a response, “Well I suppose my father may prefer to remember his life rather than our accident.”  
“I doubt it, it's not mentioned here on the pamphlet.”  
The color drained from Sarah's face, “M-may I see yours?” she asked holding her hand out for Jennifer's pamphlet.  
“Sure.” she said handing it over.  
Sarah scanned through the pamphlet, praying to find something, anything, about Liam. Throughout each page there wasn't a single mention of him nor of his memory. There would be several speeches throughout the night, but not one of the speakers knew of her brother. Not one, except Crystal, who wouldn't even look him in the eye in life. Much less speak of him in death.  
A black smear suddenly bloomed on the page as she stared at it, begging the now ruined letters to change as the tears fell from her eyes ruining her painted face.  
“Sarah! What the hell, your make-up!” Crystal hissed as she grabbed Sarah by the arm painfully. Sarah wiped her eyes with her sleeve, further smearing her make up and staining the dress. She glared at her step-mother before spitting in Crystal's face. Disgust bloomed in her eyes as her grip slackened. Sarah used this as her chance to break Crystal's grip and run blindly into the night.


	7. Mother

That wasn't the first time Sarah had ever been close to death. As she ran, Sarah realized that twice already in her life she had flirted with the reaper. However she couldn't really bring herself to remember the events of the first incident. Perhaps the third time would be the charm for the reaper. Maybe now she'd be with her mother and beloved older brother. She finally arrived at the bridge. She looked over the railing into the inky black waters. Sarah climbed up onto the stone railing trying not to slip as she stood. She took a deep breath trying to prepare herself for the icy plunge.  
“Stop! Don't jump!” Sarah vaguely recognized the voice as that of the freaky chick from earlier that day. She ignored her, instead she considered how much drowning would hurt.  
“Sarah! Please!” Sarah turned sharply, gasping as she thought she heard her brother's voice, and the voice of someone she couldn't quite remember.  
Suddenly she slipped off the edge as she watched Morgana running towards her. But, she wasn't the only one. There behind Morgana floated three ghosts; Aidena, Liam, and her mother.

Sarah was six the first time she faced death. She and her mother had gone to a park one day in late summer, just before school started. It had been raining all week and that had been the first sunny day in quite some time, so Sarah's mother, Christine, thought it would be a good opportunity for Sarah to let out some energy and play. But, dark clouds loomed on the edge of the horizon and Sarah and her mother were kidnapped by men in black, who were driving a black van.

The room they were kept in was cold and dark. It smelled of rotting wood and mold. Christine thought that it was probably a condemned house. Sarah curled up against her mother's side, both of them were bound in ropes. Sarah cried softly as her mother hushed her, kissing her head lighting.  
“How much do you think we'll get for them?” said a gruff man's voice.  
A woman crouched in front of Sarah and Christine, her dyed blonde hair tickling Christine's ankle. “Oh, I'd say based on this necklace,” she paused ripping Christine's gold locket from her throat, “Maybe a half a mil. For each of us.”  
“Crystal why are you doing this?!” Christine asked looking at their brown eyed, blonde captor, “You're my sister!”  
Crystal stood up putting the locket in her pocket, “I know. I'm just perfect Christine's imperfect little sister. Everyone loves Christine. She's beautiful and talented. She has a rich husband, well behaved children, and a rising music career. And me? Well, I barely get by and no-one cares.”  
“That's not true!”  
“Oh, isn't it?” Crystal snapped, looking at her bound older sister, “But that's alright. Because now, my boys and I are going to get quite the pay day.” She finished smirking.  
The sound of sirens filled the air, coming closer and closer, until they seemed to stop just outside.  
“Shit, how did they find us?” Crystal snapped at one of the men. He walked to the top of the staircase to her left peeking out the window.  
“They didn't. It's alright.” He called down to her softly, “It's an ambulance at the house next door.”   
Suddenly Christine let out a piercing scream.  
“Shut up! Shut up!” Crystal yelled at her sister. Yet Christine continued to scream at the top of her lungs. Sarah looked back and forth between her mother and her aunt as she watched Crystal grab a bat.  
“I said, shut up!” Crystal screamed as she brought the bat upside her sister's head. A thunderous crack resounded in the room as all fell into silence.  
Crystal panted as she glared at her sister. Once more the air filled with the sound of sirens. Crystal looked to her men in a panic, “Bail!” she cried out as she ran out through the back door with her henchmen. The sound of sirens coming closer once more.  
About ten minutes later the police began using a battering ram on the door. When they finally managed to rush into the house all they found was Sarah. She cried as she pushed against her mother's motionless bleeding body. Begging her to please wake up. But she never did.


	8. Goodbye

As Sarah's vision cleared of the memory she realized the only part of her in the river was her toes.  
“Sarah! Give her your other hand!” Sarah looked up to see that Morgana had her by the hand. Behind her was “the Giant” holding onto Morgana, and by extension Sarah, for dear life. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he pleaded with her, “Sarah, please take the girls hand.”  
“Come on Sarah!” Lion and Lancelot begged together.  
Sarah looked to Morgana's other out stretched hand, reaching up to take it.  
“I've got her!” Morgana called up to the men as she wrapped her other hand around Sarah's.  
The three men pulled Morgana up and back onto the bridge, Sarah following up after.  
Sarah sat down beside the bridge's brick rail shivering as she looked up at the King's Riders. Lancelot squatted down in front of her brushing her hair out of her face.  
“Sarah, what were you thinking? Please! Talk to us. Tell us what's going on?”  
Sarah looked up at the three of them unable to speak as she cried.  
“Dragonfly,” Liam sat in front of his sister, unseen by everyone else living. He smiled softly at her as he gently took her hand, “They can't help if you don't talk to them.”  
Sarah's lip quivered as she looked passed the living to her brother, “Liam..”  
A woman knelt beside Liam, gently kissing Sarah's head, “It's not your time yet darling. Don't be in such a rush. Liam and I will be there for you when the time is right.”  
“Momma.” Sarah whispered, tears rushing down her cheeks.  
Christine stroked her daughter's hair lightly, “Things are about to get better. You remember my murderer, your father will finally have closure. He'll finally be able to see what his indifference has done to you and his life.”  
Liam and Christine stood quietly, backing up to a man dressed in a brown cloak and hood, his amethyst eyes shinning with a gentle, kind look at Sarah as she watched the three of them vanished.  
The tears continued to stream down Sarah's face as Lancelot held her close, “It'll be okay Dragonfly. Just tell us what's been going on.”  
Sarah looked up at the King's Riders and Morgana, and began to tell them everything, tears streaming down her cheeks. It took a while and thankfully Morgana happened to have a pack of tissues on her that she was willing to share with Sarah as she told her tale.  
“We need to tell the Police, and your father.” Lancelot said as Morgana handed Sarah another tissue, “But what I don't understand is, how did you know?” He asked Morgana.  
“Well, I mean...” Morgana looked at the ground whispering, “An angel told me...” Aidena sighed in frustration.  
“No, ser-”  
“I believe her,” Sarah said firmly, cutting Lancelot off, “I mean, I'm pretty sure I've seen an Angel a few times since she started hanging around me. So I believe her.”  
Aidena frowned at the girl curiously. She had seen Azriel when he picked up Liam and Christine, but that was a few “angels” one time. Who and when else did Sarah see angels, she wondered. Her thoughts were cut short as the ambulance the Riders had called, on their way to the bridge, had finally arrived. They gave Sarah first aid for hypothermia before taking her to the hospital for further tests and evaluations.


	9. Thanksgiving

Morgana sat in her living room watching the Thanksgiving day specials on TV. Thanksgiving day and she was the only living person in the house. There was no scent of turkey or pumpkin pie filling the air as it cooked. Only the smell of the musty old duplex they lived in.  
“Well other than me being dead, it's just like last year huh?” Aidena said as she sat on top of the entertainment center.  
Morgana looked up at her sadly, “Yeah, I guess it is...”

-One Year Prior-

Morgana sat in her back yard, the scent of dirt surrounding her as tears stained her cheeks.  
“Stupid, stupid, stupid...” she muttered under her breath angrily.  
“Hey, what's up?” Morgana looked up to see Aidena sitting on the fence, her dreadlocks pulled back from her face into a kind of pony tail.  
“You are.” Morgana said humorlessly.  
Aidena sighed as she hopped down from the fence, the sound of tearing fabric filling the air. Aidena's eyes widen as she lets loose a string of preteen level profanity.  
“Oh crap oh crap oh crap. How bad is it?” she asked turning around so Morgana could see her bum.  
Aidena was wearing a pair of black slacks with a burnt orange top. Morgana looked at the back of Aidena's pants, finding that as bad as it sounded, all it was, was a ripped seam.  
“Nothing I can't fix.” she said standing up as she wiped her eyes.  
“You're amazing, Hun.”  
“It's nothing really.” she said as Aidena followed her into her side of the duplex.  
“So when are your parents gonna be home?” Aidena asked as she took her pants off.  
“I don't know. Late.” Morgana said as she grabbed her sewing kit, “Yours?”  
“Eh, they're in the middle of their divorce proceedings. They were supposed to be home like an hour ago so that Dad could finish packing and all of us go out for one last family dinner.” she sighed, “But it looks like things are taking longer than expected.”  
“At least your dad is coming home tonight.”  
“At least your parents still love and stand by each other.” Aidena retorted as she sat down on the couch next to Morgana as she began to fix Aidena's slacks.  
“Eh, true. I'm just mad is all.”  
“Yeah, I can understand... I guess we'll be spending Thanksgiving with just each other, huh?”  
Morgana smiled at her friend, “Yeah, I'm thankful we don't have to spend it alone.”  
Aidena grinned back at her, “Shall I raid our kitchens for our dinner?”  
“Sure. You wanna borrow my robe so that you can get to yours to raid it?”  
“Ah... Yeah. Please.”  
“It's behind you.” she said looking at the slacks she was mending as she gestured to the robe thrown across the couch. Aidena threw on Morgana's robe before heading to the other side of the duplex.  
After a time Morgana finished fixing Aidena's slacks and followed into the other half of their home.  
“I'm almost done!” Aidena called upon hearing her friend enter the house. “You can find something for us to watch while we eat, if you want?”  
Morgana nodded sitting on Aidena's couch and flipping through the channels as she called out, “I brought your slacks! They're finished!”

Morgana and Aidena smiled softly at their memory.  
“No matter how long I live, I think that will always be the best and worst Thanksgiving of my life.”


	10. Darkness

The sunlight streamed through the window, blinding me as I begrudgingly awoke from the night's sleep. Not that it felt like I had slept at all. I wish I could just go back to the darkness, but it's six thirty and I need to get ready for school. No need to rock the boat as they say.

“Oi! Get up lazy bones!”  
Morgana opened her sapphire eyes, grumpily looking up at her ghostly twin.  
“Fifteen more minutes?” she begged looking up at Aidena with puppy like eyes.  
“I'm afraid you'll have to forgo your usual fifteen minute snooze.”  
Morgana yelped in shock as she sat up looking towards her bedroom windows. Zerachiel sat in the window sill, the morning sun filtering through his soft golden hair creating an illusion of the heavenly power that he concealed.  
“Do you have no concept of decency?” Morgana asked as she bundled her blankets to her chest.   
Zerachiel cocked his head to the side curiously as he observed her, “You're wearing night clothes. You're decent.”  
Morgana gave him a deadpan glare as Aidena spoke up.  
“My Lord, she may be covered, but pj's are really not something humans wear when speaking with an acquaintance.”  
Zerachiel considered that for a moment before responding, “Well, then I suppose we should get you ready for school and entertaining.” he said before holding out his hand towards her. A bright golden light surrounded Morgana briefly before disappearing as the angel lowed his hand.  
Morgana blinked at him a couple times in confusion before looking down at herself. Her pjs had been changed with the cloths she'd picked out the night before. She now wore torn blue jeans and a sapphire blouse. Morgana looked back to Zerachiel taking a deep breath before speaking, “What can I do for you this morning?”  
“You're about to have your first encounter with your next case tomorrow. Thought I'd give you a heads up and warn you.”  
“Warn us about what?”  
“Don't judge a book by it's cover. In this case it could cost a life.” He said before vanishing leaving only a couple feathers in his absence.  
“Freaking bird brain.” Morgana muttered.


	11. Gypsy Lady

The following week was less eventful for Morgana and Aidena. After Sarah had finished crying the ambulance came and took her away. They hadn't heard from Sarah since, and now it was Friday.  
Morgana walked down the steps of her school, Aidena hovering at her side.  
“You're worried about that girl huh, Hun?” Aidena asked as she watched her best friend.  
“Yea,” Morgana nodded, “Zerachiel would tell us if we failed right?”  
Aidena sighed, “I don't know Hun. What I do know is that we did everything we could. I also know that you should be more worried about that Math test next Tuesday.”  
Morgana rolled her eyes, “Since when are you such a goodie goodie?”  
Aidena looked down slightly, “Well, cuz I'm walking a fine line. I don't want that to happen to you.”  
“Because of the Suicide thing?”  
Aidena sighed, “Yea, that and... Honestly Mo... I don't know if they'll let me in even if we do succeed.”  
“What?!” Morgana stopped in her tracks looking up at her friend, “Why not? You said they wouldn't send you to hell if you helped enough people.”  
“No,” Aidena sighed as she hovered back to sit on the brick wall beside her friend, “If I save them, I said I wouldn't go to hell for suicide... They refused to tell me whether or not I was hell bound, before I offed myself.”  
Morgana leaned against the wall thoughtfully, “So this isn't a get out of jail free card. It's just for that particular offense.”  
Aidena nodded, “Yea, so if I did enough bad in my life they're gonna send me to the Pit anyway.”  
“And they won't tell you where your headed then?”  
“No, they won't.”  
Morgana stared at the ground lost in thought for a moment before finally pushing herself from the wall, “You'll be fine.”  
Aidena looked at her confused before following, “What do you mean?”  
“We've had our devious moments, but you never bullied, killed, abused, or raped anyone. In life you did your best not to hurt anyone. You did everything you could to save people from the pain you were going through as well as pain that you knew nothing about. I can't see you going to Hell.”  
Aidena's eyes widened slightly before softening into a smile, “Thank you, Mo.”  
“Don't mention it.”

“Hey! Gypsy Lady!”  
Aidena and Morgana, turned with a start. Sitting on the back of Dante's motorcycle was none other than Sarah herself.  
“Thanks again for the ride Leo.” She said as she hopped off the motorcycle, putting her helmet into the saddle bags, “I'm gonna walk home with them, OK?”  
Dante nodded, “Be safe. Hey Gypsy!” he called out looking to Morgana, “Keep her from jumping off bridges on the way home!”  
Morgana blushed slightly at the new nickname, “You have my word, um... Leo.”  
Dante smiled at her nodding before riding off with a thunderous roar.  
“His real name is Dante.” Sarah said smiling brightly at Morgana, “I'm Sarah. You helped save my life last week. I was hoping to get to know you.”  
“Oh, um...” Morgana stuttered as she shook Sarah's hand, “I'm Morgana...”  
“Smooth as silk, ex-lax.” huffed Aidena amused.  
“Really?!”  
Aidena and Morgana looked at Sarah in confusion as she looked back up at Morgana in admiration.  
“Your name is Morgana? You're really named after Arthur's sister? The great druidess Morgana Le Fay? You're name is perfect for the Kings Rider's, without even giving you a nickname!”  
Morgana blinked at the girl confused, “Well, my mom just wanted to name me after the ocean so... she looked up names that meant ocean and picked one. I uh, I don't know anything about Arthur or his sister... Or about the King's riders.”  
“Oh,” Sarah looked at her slightly disappointed, “Well, you share her name... But the King's Riders was the name for my brother's group of friends. The Legend of King Arthur was their favorite story.”  
Morgana nodded, “I see... Well that reminds me, why do you call me Gypsy Lady?”  
“Oh, well because you look like a gypsy.” she answered simply, “Like uh... Esmeralda, you know?”  
Morgana nodded slightly as Aidena snickered, “Careful, I wouldn't want a hunchback to go fall in love with you.”  
“Hush you!” Morgana snapped softly at Aidena.  
“Huh?” Sarah looked up at Morgana with a look of hurt and bewilderment.  
“I said, 'How are you?' I mean with having to relive your mum's death and her murderer and all.” she said quickly praying it would take back Sarah's pain.  
Thankfully Sarah immediately brightened up as she answered, “Better. The Police searched Crystal's stuff and found my mother's locket. Dad had all the jewelers, police, and pawnshop owners on the look out for it since my mother's death. It was the one thing that Dad could think of to try and find her killer... the locket was one of a kind after all. Because of that, Crystal could never get rid of it. So she kept the evidence on her for the past eight years.”  
“Was it enough, to put her behind bars?”  
“Well, the police also dug up my mom's body to find anymore evidence... The trial is next month and that's when we'll find out if it's enough.”  
Morgana hesitantly put her arm around Sarah as they started to walk giving her a reassuring hug, “I'm sorry that they have to reopen wounds to bring an end to all this.”  
Sarah sighed smiling at Morgana weakly, “Yea, my dad is doing better though.”  
“Yea?”  
“Yea, we're going to see a movie tomorrow. It'll be the first time we've gone anywhere as a family in... well since my mom died.”  
Morgana nodded quietly hugging her again.  
“Who is she?”  
Morgana looked down at Sarah confused, “Who are you talking about?”  
“The night you stopped me from jumping off the bridge... I saw my mom and my brother Liam... I watched them cross over I think. I think I could see them because... I was close to death. I haven't seen them since. I haven't seen the girl that was hovering behind you either.”  
“The what?” Morgana asked as Aidena gasped in shock.  
“There was a girl hovering behind you. She was African I think. She was wearing a blood soaked halter dress and her hair was in dreadlocks with beads... Do you know who she was?”  
“I...” Morgana felt herself at a loss for words. She never dreamed that someone else would ever be able to see Aidena. She was still shocked that she could, “She... She was my best friend... She died two weeks ago...”  
“Well... she was still watching over you the night you saved me... I think I saw her the first time we met too.”  
Morgana nodded, “Well... yea... She's the one who told me that you were in trouble.”


	12. Chapter 6-Liam

The arctic air bit Sarah's exposed skin as she ran through the streets,but she didn't care about the cold. Her feet stung as her heels hit the pavement. The rocks embedded themselves in her skin since her shoes had been discarded a few blocks back. However, the pain didn't concern her. The cold and pain were nothing compared to the pit in her soul. It felt like her heart had been replaced with a rock cold as if it had been frozen in nitrogen. Even though she knew blood ran through her veins, even though she ran with all her might, she still felt as if her heart had stopped beating; a piece of granite lodged within her chest, protected by her ribs, cuddled by her lung. But as she ran, the distant echoing sound of sirens flowed through her mind. Whether they were real or an echo of her past she, couldn't tell. All she knew, was it wasn't nearly as cold as it was that night...

"Crystal, the road conditions are bad today," Liam said into the receiver of the house phone, "It's not safe to travel."  
Sarah sat in front of the fire place, her head resting on her knees as she watched her brother pace. Despite the fact his face remained passive,she could tell Liam's fury was slowly rising.  
"Of course I have snow tires on but-" Liam's eyes widened as someone on the other line interrupted him, "I see. Fine, I'll do my best not to die." he said sharply as he hung up.  
"Daddy took her side again huh?" Sarah asked softly looking up at her brother.  
Liam sighed softly, " 'Fraid so. We need to leave soon... If we're lucky we can stay ahead of the storm."  
Sarah nodded, grabbing her suitcase as they went out to the car.  
"Shit."Liam said softly as he took note of the already falling snow, "Sarah, get our stuff in the car now. I'm gonna start it up. Hopefully I can get the engine warmed up quickly. We're gonna need to leave now if we have a prayer in beating the storm."  
Sarah nodded throwing their luggage in the trunk as Liam worked to start the car. It was a fifteen year old white Ford, but on a normal day it still ran like a dream. If only this had been a normal day. It finally started as Sarah sat down in the seat beside her brother.  
"I hate her." Sarah pouted as her brother sighed.  
"I know, Dragonfly. But, Dad's chosen to share his life with her."  
"That's cuz he's an idiot."  
"Sarah!"Liam snapped, "Enough!"  
Sarah looked down ashamed, "Sorry."  
Liam nodded silently as they continued down the road, the sound of Queen filling the car.

They'd been driving for a couple of hours when things went bad. Sarah had been reading when Liam tightened his grip on the steering wheel.  
"Hey Sarah, could you turn off the radio? The road is getting a bit dodgy." Sarah looked up at her brother as his eyes narrowed on the road. He twisted the knob on the steering stick causing the windshield wipers to move more quickly.  
Sarah set her book down on the console as she turned off the radio, "What's going on Liam?"  
"The storm seems to have caught up with us."  
Sarah's eyes widened as she looked out the window seeing that it was true.  
"Shit!"Liam swore as he lost control of the car.  
"Liam!"Sarah screamed as the car began to spin.  
"Shit!"Liam panicked as he finally got the car to stop spinning. However, just as he got the car to go straight they found themselves flying off the road and straight into a tree.  
The front of the car was crushed by the base of a tree  as branches broke through the wind shield. Sarah lifted her hands in an attempt to protect herself from the falling glass of the windshield. The glass cut her palms and through the fabric of her sleeves as her body lunged forward. Sarah was knocked unconscious as soon as her head hit the dashboard. Liam looked around the car, blood dripping from his lips as the cold seeped in from outside. He looked down at his chest, wheezing as he saw the branch that impaled him. He grabbed his phone typing in 911 as he felt the cold sink into his bones. He couldn't tell if the cold came from the snow or his impending death, either way he needed to save his sister.  
"911, what's your emergency?'  
Liam wheezed trying to form the words necessary to get help for his sister, "Crash... Car... Ice... Highway XXX... Sister...Freezing..."  
"Sir, Sir! Stay with me! What is your name?"  
"Liam...Blackman..."  
"Stay on the line with me Liam, it'll be OK."  
"Save her... Save Sarah..." his voice trailed off as everything went black.

Twenty minutes later Sarah regained consciousness, the sound of sirens filled the air. She looked around at her surroundings. Both of the front windows and the windshield had been shattered, letting in the old and snow. Glass and blood covered most of the inside of the car. Sarah shivered as she heard the officers who seemed to be looking for them.  
"H-help!"Sarah croaked as she undid her seat belt.  
"My Brother..." she wheezed as she began crawling onto the dashboard, the sharp glass shards biting deeper into her hands as she shifted her weight on them. Hot tears stung in her eyes as she looked back at the drivers seat. Her eyes widened as she forgot about the pain. The Police were finally able to locate her after hearing her heartbreaking scream. The sound was a perfect mixture of terror and lose.  
Liam sat in the drivers seat half dried, half frozen mixture of spit and blood ran down his chin as he stared blankly out his broken window. The tree had fallen on his side of the car, not fully crushing the frame, but branches had managed to get in through the shattered windshield entering his body through his chest. In one hand he held his cell phone, the emergency operator yelling on the other end of the line to get his attention. Once again the world around Sarah went black as the police officers ran to her.


End file.
